A seminal figure in post-War Chicago blues, pianist Sunnyland Slim learned to play as a child in Mississippi; he spent many years performing around the South, before settling in Chicago in 1942. There he established his reputation playing alongside the new breed of blues singers and musicians, such as Muddy Waters and Little Walter. He also recorded extensively on his own for Chess, Vee Jay, and Cobra Records, producing such classic Chicago sides as "Johnson Machine Gun" and "Highway 51." Throughout the 1960s and '70s, he recorded prolifically and toured around the world. In the '80s, although in ill health, he produced albums on his own Airway label, and lent assistance to young players such as Professor Eddie Lusk and Lurrie Bell.